1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a thyristor and method of making same and more particularly to a thyristor and method of making same having greatly improved turn-on characteristics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, thyristors used mostly as high speed, low current switches were made such that the lifetime of carriers in middle semiconductor zones, or base zones, was relatively short in order to reduce the recovery time of the thyristor. The lifetime of the carriers could not, however, be reduced arbitrarily because below a certain limiting value of carrier lifetime, the thyristor could no longer be fired with normal gate currents.
While prior thyristors were generally somewhat satisfactory for many switching applications, the speed of turn-on of prior thyristors, being limited by base zone carrier lifetime, was itself limited.